COLUMBIA’S STATUSThe Lions fell on the road twice last weekend at Yale and Brown to see their Ivy League record even out at 2-2. The game against the Bulldogs was a physical affair that featured a combined 53 fouls and 80 free throw attempts. Columbia’s contest against the Bears was a back-and-forth battle that saw the score even nine times and change hands on 13 occasions.

PRINCETON’S STATUSThe Tigers are in unfamiliar territory as they have begun Ivy League play with an 0-3 record, including defeats at Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. The Jan. 31 showdown in Boston was a high-scoring 82-76 affair that saw both teams shoot over 50 percent from the field. Princeton continued to shoot the ball well the next night against the Big Green (45.1%), but committed 17 turnovers in a 78-69 loss in Hanover.

PENN’S STATUSThe Quakers also fell at Dartmouth and Harvard, dropping a 67-58 decision to the Big Green and suffered an 80-50 loss against the Crimson. Dartmouth’s Alex Mitola scored 23 second half points to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point lead and the Big Green never looked back. Harvard used a 29-5 first half run to take control of the game and improve to 3-0 in the Ancient Eight.

ABOUT THE MATCHUPSColumbia holds a 84-145 record, dating back to 1900-01, against Princeton and are winless in its last eight tries, dating back to a March 6, 2009, 58-44 victory in Levien Gym. Against Penn, the Lions are 86-137 in the series, which originated in the 1901-02 season. In the history of the Ivy League (beginning in the 1957-58 season), Columbia has never swept the Princeton/Penn road swing.

BALL DON’T LIEOn the heels of setting a single-season program record for free throw percentage (.745) in 2012-13, Columbia has shot even better from the charity stripe this season. They Lions are currently seventh in the nation and lead the Ancient Eight, converting at a .761 clip. Sophomore Grant Mullins leads the squad and the conference, and he checks in at No. 14 in the NCAA, knocking down an 89.9 percent of his attempts. Mullins has a two-year percentage of 88.7 (126-142) and ranks fourth on the Ivy League career list.

REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONEThe Lions’ 3-point shooting has been a strength all season long as they are converting on 38.8 percent, ranking 36th in the nation. If the Lions continue their current pace (8.0 makes per game), the team will have 248 treys, shattering the single-season mark of 218 set in 1996-97.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTSIn the latest NCAA rankings that came out on Feb. 2, Columbia was ranked 24th in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 62.1 PPG. The Lions have also improved their field goal (2013-14 - .410/2012-13 - .435) and 3-point percentage defense (2013-14 - .333/2012-13 - .368) from a year ago.

DID YOU KNOW?The Lions started Ivy League play 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and just the second time since 2000. The last time Columbia won three straight to start the 14-game tournament was in 1994-95 when they began 4-0 with Jack Rohan patrolling the sidelines.

THE GIVING TREECory Osetkowski (affectionately known as “Tree” to teammates and coaches) played arguably his finest game in blue and white at Cornell on Jan. 25, recording 19 points, nine boards and five blocks. The five rejections were the most for a Lion since Noruwa Agho turned away five shots against Lafayette in 2011.